Far Longer Than Forever
by trainheartnet13
Summary: Can love transcend the boundary of time? A young girl named Chiyo appears in Konohagakure one day. She seems to have a connection to one Uchiha boy. Why does she have that reccuring nightmare of cold red eyes? And why do they smile only for her?
1. Chapter 1

Cereza glanced around her. She must be far enough by now. Surely they wouldn't find her here. A flash of light caught her eye. Walking over to a small shrub she saw a kunai stuck in the ground. Taking a closer look at her surroundings she noticed this kunai wasn't alone. There were slashes on the trees and shuriken stuck in some branches. One particular flurry of shuriken had caught a piece of cloth. The black fabric hung, tattered, off the tree branch. She picked up the blade embedded in the ground. _Just in case_, she told herself. She strode out into the field beyond the tree line. Bodies lay scattered and the ground ruptured. The dust of the battle had long settled, and scavengers were slinking through the debris. A soft thud pierced the silence. Her grip on the knife tightened as she slowly approached the source.

A lean boy, not yet in his twentieth year, lay gasping on his back, a trail of blood at the corner of his mouth. Cereza rushed over to the boy. A deep gash, in his right side, was the only open wound. The bruises on his cheek indicated he had taken quite the beating, which probably accounted for the blood in his mouth.

"Can you hear me?" She asked the boy. He moved quickly as if to attack, but the wound slowing his movements gave enough time to dodge. "Listen," She tried again, "My name is Cereza. If you let me, I can help you." Dark brown eyes wearily opened at her, full of mistrust. "You have a hole in your side." she half growled. "Where are your friends." His eyes narrowed, but still no answer. "Look, you don't have time for this! I just want to help!" She yelled at him. "I can help get you home." She said a little softer.

"I'd rather you just put me out of my misery." Cereza scowled at him. At least she got an answer that time, though not the one she wanted.

She took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose to prevent from hitting the injured boy. "How old are you?" She knew he wouldn't answer so she continued, "You should want to live if the opportunity exists." She gestured to the rubble around them, "I already know you are a ninja, and I know the customs despite not being one myself. But listen," she leaned in closer, "I know no one on this field, so I am not your enemy. Why would I be trying so hard to save you just to kill you?"

"You could be a spy." It sounded more like a question, and he looked very unsure of that accusation.

She stood and stared down at him. "Well, I'm leaving." She declared. "You can either come with me or stay here." With that she bent and extended her hand. His eyes widened and after a long moment, he hesitantly took it. She carefully helped him to his feet. "I'm Cereza." She said again.

"Kouji," he replied. His eyes widened again at the radiant smile that she gave him.

"Nice to meet you, Kouji." She beamed. "Let's get you somewhere safe." Wrapping his left arm around her shoulders she supported him away from the carnage.

* * *

><p>He hadn't spoken since they started moving, and Cereza was getting uneasy. She couldn't figure out how to ease the tension quickly growing in the air. She didn't want to push her luck. Certain he wasn't leading her to his clan, she didn't want him to try to get rid of her; he needed help. His wound was still bleeding. She had "wrapped" it with the bottom of her shirt. She had found some herbs to numb the pain, but he still needed a medic.<p>

He stared at her the whole time she was running around the glade they were currently resting in.

"Is something wrong?" she finally asked.

"Your belly is tan too," he replied softly.

She glanced down at her belly. With her shirt ripped as it was, the whole of her midriff was showing. She blinked a few times then looked at him. His face was pale.

"I've seen some sun," She responded slowly.

"That's rare," he replied softly, turning away.

Truth be told, she hadn't really thought about it. Much of her time was spent alone, and she loved the light. "I used to spend the afternoon laying in the sun," she admitted, "and it was too hot to wear modest clothing." She glanced at him for a moment, then said, "Have you never seen a girls stomach before?"

His sudden flinch and the way his ears pinked was all the yes she needed. She couldn't catch the small giggle that escaped, to which his ears darkened. His dark shoulder-length hair contrasted with his pale skin, and as such his blush just seemed more obvious.

"Anyway," she started, "where am I taking you?"

He turned to her sharply. She just stared at him silently. She could see him mulling over his options in his head. Finally, he looked her in the eye.

He slowly pointed in the direction they had just come. "That way," he mumbled, "the clan house is that way."


	2. Chapter 2

It was dark. That was the only thing that ran through 5-year-old Chiyo's mind. The only thing she noticed. The bright light had dwindled and the low roar subsided. There was only a tiny ray of light coming from the crack in the boards above her. She wondered if Lady Nia had come around to find everyone yet. Had she missed the whistle? She didn't want to ruin the game. She mulled it over for a while and decided to wait a bit longer, at least until she heard the monks talking in the temple gardens. Clutching her mother's music box, she curled up tighter in the hole beneath the floorboards. She had found the hole by chance the first time they had all played hide-and-seek. No one ever found her here; she always won.

This game had been different than the others. Lady Nia, the priestess in charge of taking care of the dozen children from ages 4 to 12 that called the mountain temple home, had rushed in, waking them all. Still groggy from sleep the others had cleaned up their cots slowly. Chiyo couldn't help but watch Lady Nia as she checked the hallway over and over, as if she was followed. When the children had lined up as they had been taught she smiled softly.

"We are going to play a game, children." She said quickly. Hearing that, the others began to smile and fidget. "We are playing hide-and-seek today," she continued, "and you have to make it really hard for me to find you, alright?" The smiles broadened and young eyes began to glance around expectantly. "The goal is to hide in the best place you can think of, and do not come out until I blow the whistle, okay?" When the giggling had died down Lady Nia looked down the hall once more. She gave a subtle nod then said, "Okay, go!" The kids scattered and Lady Nia rushed back down the hall.

Chiyo peered around the corner of the door. All the other adults were rushing around as well. Were the monks playing, too? She found herself smiling at that thought. Master Monk Shen was too old to hide in tight places. An image of the old, bald monk standing in a corner of the room, with a blanket draped over his head, entertained itself at the back of Chiyo's mind. She slunk down the hall to try to figure out what the monks were doing. Master Shen stood before Lady Nia with a serious expression on his usually calm face. Chiyo tried to listen in on what they were saying, and scowled. Something about getting the kids to safety? She listened more carefully.

"—hope they will be ok." Lady Nia said.

"All we can do is hope they stay out of sight." Master Shen stated solemnly. "How close are they?" he called out.

"Almost to the gate, Master." Came the reply.

"Very well," he sighed, "remember, we know nothing of any children in this area." He called out again.

"Yes, Master!"

Chiyo slumped against the wall. What did that mean? She looked back up the hallway. A few of the others were scampering to find good hiding places. Chiyo then remembered that they were supposed to hide. She hurried back to the dorm room and grabbed her mother's music box. It and her necklace were all she had left of her mother. Clutching the rectangular wooden box close to her heart, she made her way to the north wing. When she reached the end of the hall she glanced out into the gardens. It was still dark, and the moon was still high in the sky. It must be the middle of the night. Why were they playing hide-and-seek at night? She turned sharply at a sharp bang that echoed from the front gate. Tightening her grip on her music box she bent down and lifted up the loose floorboard. There was a small hole here that had been dug out a long time ago, with a large rock hiding a small cave-like area, and she assumed someone had hidden something valuable in it back then. It was large enough for her to curl up in and hide. She moved the rock so that only a crack was left of the opening.

As she waited she grew very tired. The rock muffled the crashing and banging. Suddenly there was a pleasant warmth and a flickering light. The light grew brighter and a dull roar sounded. Rolling over so the light and warmth was to her back, Chiyo quickly fell asleep.

Now as she sat peering out the crack in the floorboards she wondered how much she had missed. Perhaps everyone had gone up the mountain, and she didn't even hear the whistle. All she knew for certain was that there was no noise in the gardens above her, but that of the birds waking to the fresh day. She stared down at the small box, glanced back to the boards, then reached over and lifted the lid of the box. Her mother's slow lullaby began to chime. Chiyo stared at the box until the music stopped. She sighed heavily and hugged the box as tightly as she could.

_Thump thump._

Chiyo peered up through the crack to see a shadow looming nearby.

"I thought I heard something from over here." An unfamiliar voice said.

The young girl swallowed the fear growing in her throat, and waited for the shadow to leave before she made her move. She moved the rock and peered through the boards. _The roof is gone,_ she thought.

There was no one nearby that she could see, so she ventured out of the small cave. As soon as she touched the floorboards they were lifted away, and Chiyo was left face to face with a pale demon.

It had a human-like body and a white animal face. Hidden weapons could be seen in the thin grey armor.

"Are you alright, little one?" It asked in a female voice.

Chiyo shrank back, and gripped the music box.

"It's alright," the demon woman said softly, "we aren't going to hurt you." With that the demon woman offered a hand, which Chiyo hesitantly took. The demon pulled her from the hole and held her up. There were other demons with this one. "Any other survivors?" The demon holding her called out.

"Negative," a male demon responded. The young girl took this moment to look around her. A black scorch mark on the side of the mountain was all that remained of the temple she once called home.

"Understood." The female demon called. "Then, move out." She then looked at Chiyo. "Don't worry," she soothed, "you're safe now."


End file.
